Animal waste handling device and method

ABSTRACT

A device is capable of filtering animal waste with an improved sifting method. The device includes a support bracket, a chamber attached to the support bracket, and a screen filter configured to locate within the chamber when the animal deposits the waste. The chamber has an opening adapted to accommodate the animal to deposit the waste inside the chamber. The chamber is rotatable between a first position and a second position. The screen filter is movable between a third position and a fourth position. The rotation of the chamber and the movement of the screen filter can be independently managed, thus achieving a better result for animal waste handling.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/522,971, filed Nov. 10, 2021, which is a bypass continuation of PCTapplication No. PCT/CN2021/119461 filed Sep. 18, 2021, the contents ofboth of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a device for handling waste depositedby an animal, and more particularly, to an improved self-cleaning devicethat separates animal waste from litter material.

BACKGROUND

A potty device filled with litter material, such as sand, dried clay, orcat litter, can be used to let pet animals excrete waste. After theexcretion, the waste sticks to or soils the litter material to formsoiled animal waste so that the potty device can be easily cleaned up.However, the used litter material must be cleaned before the animalwaste piled up to a certain extent. In an effort to relieve pet ownersfrom performing a highly unpleasant recurring task of cleaning theanimal waste, such as animal excrement or coagulated litter, from theunsoiled litter material, various types of self-cleaning potty deviceare designed to separate animal waste automatically from the littermaterial for the ease of disposal. One method is to use a motor to drivea separation device, such as rake, porous scoop, sifting screen,filtration grid, or sifting drawer, through the litter material and thusseparate the animal waste from the litter material. Another method is tolift the litter material and let the litter material fall through afilter structure, where the litter material passes the filter structureand the waste are left on the filter structure, thus the animal waste isseparated from the litter material. The separated animal waste is thenpushed to a waste collector, such as storage bag or waste compartmentplaced outside the chamber, for cleaning.

Some conventional self-cleaning potty devices are usually structuredwith a sphere-shaped chamber partially filled with litter material. Oneexemplary self-cleaning potty device includes a filter mechanism insidethe chamber. After an animal excretes waste onto the litter material,the self-cleaning potty device operates to separate the waste from thelitter material. During the operation, the sphere-shaped chamber rotatesto sift the litter material so that the unsoiled litter material canroll down along the inner surface of the chamber and fall through thefilter mechanism. At the same time, the animal waste agglomerates withthe litter material to form soiled particles much bigger than those ofthe litter material, and therefore is left on the filter mechanism andseparated therefrom by the self-cleaning potty device. After separationof the waste, the self-cleaning potty device keeps rotating the chamberand the waste falls from the filter mechanism to a waste collector atthe bottom of the chamber.

However, these conventional self-cleaning potty devices may pose dangerto the animals using the devices, because the opening that allows theanimals to enter or exit the chamber thereof or the opening throughwhich the waste is dumped is closed during the rotation of the chamber,thus possibly squeezing or clamping the animals and causing injurythereto. They also have a limited space for the animals to use becausethe sphere-shaped chamber forms a dome, thus limiting the height of thespace on the peripheral of the dome. The limited space makes animalsfeel uncomfortable and hard to turn their body around when inside, andmay accidentally cause the waste to attach to their coats. The closedspace in the chamber is dark and unfriendly for vision-impaired animals.It also lacks enough ventilation and may cause bacteria to grow inside.Conventionally, to mitigate these negative effects, the chamber andeventually the self-cleaning potty device including the chamber areusually oversized and thus take up a large living space. Besides, thebottom of the conventional self-cleaning potty device is arc-shaped, sothe litter material near the edge of the bottom tends to spread verythin. When an animal excretes near the edge, the waste is hard to becovered and may stick to the sidewall or bottom of the chamber. Theunevenness of the litter material becomes worse after the rotation ofthe chamber.

Moreover, the waste collector is positioned below the bottom of thechamber, therefore increasing the height of the entrance and thedifficulty for animals to get into the chamber. In addition, due to itslower height, the waste collector beneath the chamber would cause unevenstacking of the disposed waste at a few locations, rather than beingspread out across the bottom of the waste collector, therefore reducingthe usage efficiency thereof to less than 50% of the volume of the wastecollector. Due to their complexity, the conventional self-cleaning pottydevices are also hard for pet owners to clean and maintain.

Embodiments of the present disclosure address the above problems byproviding a litter collection device for separating animal waste usingan improved sifting method for filtering the animal waste without posingany danger to the animals.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a device for handlingwaste deposited by an animal. The device includes a support bracket, achamber attached to the support bracket, and a screen filter configuredto locate within the chamber when the animal deposits the waste. Thechamber has an opening adapted to accommodate the animal to deposit thewaste inside the chamber. The chamber is rotatable between a firstposition and a second position. The screen filter is movable between athird position and a fourth position.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method for handlinganimal waste with a device. The device includes a support bracket, achamber attached to the support bracket, and a screen filter attached tothe chamber. The method includes rotating the chamber between a firstposition and a second position, and moving the screen filter between athird position and a fourth position.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1D respectively illustrate a perspective view, a side view, afront view and a back view of an animal waste handling device, accordingto certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the animal wastehandling device, according to certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate various perspective views of the screen filter ofthe animal waste handling device, according to certain embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A-4B respectively illustrate a side view and a perspective viewof the rotated chamber of the animal waste handling device, according tocertain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5F respectively illustrate various perspective views and a sideview of the animal waste handling device, according to certainembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 6A-6C respectively illustrate various views of another animalwaste handling device, according to certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 6D-6F respectively illustrate various views of yet another animalwaste handling device, according to certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate schematic diagrams of a process of wastehandling, according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 8A-8D illustrate schematic diagrams of a process of spreading outlitter material in the animal waste handling device, according tocertain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 9A-9B illustrate perspective views of an operation of the animalwaste handling device, according to certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 10A-10B illustrate perspective views of the removable nonstickvessel of the animal waste handling device, according to certainembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate perspective views of an operation of the animalwaste handling device, according to certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 12A-12E illustrate various views of a foldable protector of theanimal waste handling device, according to certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 13A-13E illustrate various views of a foldable protector of theanimal waste handling device, according to certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a side view of the animal waste handling device 100,according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 15A-15B illustrate schematic diagrams of an exemplary receptacleof the animal waste handling device, according to certain embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIGS. 16A-16C illustrate schematic diagrams of another exemplaryreceptacle of the animal waste handling device, according to certainembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 17A-17C illustrate schematic diagrams of yet another exemplaryreceptacle of the animal waste handling device, according to certainembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 18 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method for handlinganimal waste with an animal waste handling device, according to certainembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments,examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverpossible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or like parts.

The following terms are used herein in the specification and appendedclaims. The term “litter material” as used herein is any granular orparticulate material that serves as a waste holding media into which theanimal may deposit bodily wastes, such as sand, dried clay, or catlitter. The term “unsoiled litter material” as used herein refers to thelitter material that is substantially uncontaminated. The term “animalwaste” as used herein means both animal excrement, clumps of litter, andsoiled litter material which is the litter material after contactingwith animal excrement or urine.

When introducing elements of the present disclosure or the preferredembodiments thereof, the articles “a,” “an” and “the” are not intendedto denote a limitation of quantity, but rather to denote the presence ofat least one of the items being referred to, unless otherwise indicatedor clearly contradicted by context. Further, the terms “comprises,”“comprising,” “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive andmean that there may be additional elements other than the listedelements.

Terms such as “upper,” “lower,” “inner,” “outer,” “front,” “rear,” andvariations thereof herein are used for ease of description to explainthe positioning of one element relative to a second element, and are notintended to be limiting to a specific orientation or position.

Terms such as “first,” “second,” and variations thereof herein are usedto describe various elements, regions, sections, etc. and are notintended to be limiting.

Terms such as “connected,” “in communication with,” “mounted,” andvariations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct andindirect connections, communication and mountings; and are notrestricted to electrical, physical or mechanical attachments,connections, or mountings.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved device forhandling waste deposited by an animal. The device may have a supportbracket and a chamber. The chamber may be attached to the supportbracket. The chamber may have an opening to accommodate the animal todeposit the waste therein. The chamber may also connect to a screenfilter inside the chamber to deposit the waste. Furthermore, otherdesirable features and characteristics will become apparent from thesubsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of thepresent disclosure.

The animal waste handling devices described herein (such as an animalwaste handling device 100 shown in FIGS. 1A-1D and 2 ) can be used forseparating litter material (such as litter material 50 shown in FIG. 7A)of substantially smaller size from animal waste (such as waste 51 shownin FIG. 7A) of substantially larger size, and disposing the animalwaste. In some embodiments, the particle size of the litter material,when unsoiled, may be between 0.1 mm³ and 50 mm³ (such as 0.1 mm³, 0.2mm³, 0.5 mm³, 1 mm³, 2 mm³, 5 mm³, 10 mm³, 15 mm³, 20 mm³, 25 mm³, 30mm³, 35 mm³, 40 mm³, 45 mm³, and 50 mm³, any range bounded by the lowerend by any of these values, or in any range defined by any two of thesevalues). The particle size of the animal waste may be between 1 cm³ and1,000 cm³ (such as 1 cm³, 2 cm³, 3 cm³, 5 cm³, 10 cm³, 15 cm³, 20 cm³,25 cm³, 30 cm³, 35 cm³, 40 cm³, 45 cm³, 50 cm³, 100 cm³, 150 cm³, 200cm³, 300 cm³, 500 cm³, and 1,000 cm³, any range bounded by the lower endby any of these values, or in any range defined by any two of thesevalues). It is contemplated that so long as the particle size of thelitter material is substantially smaller than that of the animal waste,it can be separated from the animal waste by the animal waste handlingdevices. The particle size of the litter material and that of the animalwaste are not limited to the sizes disclosed above, and they can be ofany other size as long as the objective of the present disclosure isachieved. The animal waste handling devices according to the presentdisclosure may be used by any domesticated animals, such as cats, dogs,ferrets, squirrels, rabbits, or guinea pigs, or other pet animals.

FIGS. 1A-1D respectively illustrate a perspective view, a side view, afront view and a back view of the animal waste handling device 100,according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2illustrates an exploded perspective view of the same. In someembodiments, the animal waste handling device 100 may include a supportbracket 10, a chamber 20, and a screen filter 30. The chamber 20 may beattached to and supported by the support bracket 10 and have an opening14 adapted to accommodate an animal to deposit waste inside the chamber20. In some embodiments, the animal waste handling device 100 does nothave a top cover on top of the chamber 20, which leaves the openingwithout a height limit for the animal. This structure permits enoughlight for the animal to use the device and better accommodatesvision-impaired animals. Moreover, since the device 100 does not have atop cover, the height of the whole device 100 is substantially lowerthan those conventional devices that need one, thus saving a lot ofliving space for the owner. The animal waste handling device 100 may besized to fit a domesticated animal within the chamber 20 to deposit theanimal waste. For example, the chamber of the animal waste handlingdevice 100 may have a substantially cuboid shape in its center region,such as that shown in FIGS. 1A and 1C, thus allowing an animal to enterand move around therein with a larger space while leaving considerablelatitude for the maker to design the outside shape of the chamber andthe device 100, which is a shape impossible to be achieved inconventional self-cleaning potty devices due to its different cleaningmechanism.

In some embodiments, the support bracket 10 is positioned at the bottomof the animal waste handling device 100 when being placed on a flatsurface, such as a table or a floor in a living room, or a slightlyinclined plane. The support bracket 10 may support the chamber 20 abovethe floor. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1D, the upper surfaceof the support bracket 10 may be adjacent to the lower side of thechamber 20 and extend through the entire horizontal length (along thex-direction shown in FIG. 1B) and width (along the y-direction shown inFIG. 1D) of the chamber 20. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2 ,the support bracket 10 may include a pair of support arms 101, a bottomplate 102, and a base 103. The pair of the support arms 101 may beprovided on each of the left and right sides of the device 100. Thesupport arms 101 may be rested on the base 103, and also connected withthe base 103 and the bottom plate 102 through a fastening mechanism,such as bolted joints, welding, adhesive bonding, or integratedformation. The bottom plate 102 may be adapted to place the animal wastehandling device 100 on a flat surface. In some other embodiments (notshown in FIG. 2 ), the device 100 may be placed on a non-flat or curvysurface when the bottom plate 102 is made of a soft or elastic material.It is noted that the bottom plate 102 and the base 103 are optional insome other embodiments of the present disclosure (such as thosedescribed in conjunction with FIGS. 7A-7D and 8A-8D) where the supportarms 101 can be directly rested on the floor. In such embodiments, thedevice 100 may be placed either on a flat surface or a slightly inclinedplane, since the dispensed bottom plate 102 and base 103 leave a hollowbottom in the device 100. It is also understood that in some embodimentsthe support arm 101 can be an integrated structure instead of a pair ofstructures positioned on two sides of the device 100, thus reducingcomplexity of the support bracket 10.

Referring back to FIG. 2 , each of the support arms 101 may have arotation point 13 provided on the upper end thereof. The pair ofrotation points 13 may be configured to fixate the position of thechamber 20 in the device 100 by, for example, a screw-and-bolt fastener,while also allowing the chamber 20 to rotate around an axis passingthrough the pair of rotation points 13. The rotation points 13 alsoprovide at least partial support to the chamber 20 in order to stabilizeits operation position. As a result, the chamber 20 is elevated whilebeing rotated, and thus does not touch the floor. As shown in FIG. 1B,the support bracket 10 may be shaped like a slope curved towards theback of the device 100, and the top end of the curved slope on the backof the device 100 is the highest point of the support bracket 10. Thecurvature of the slope of the support bracket 10 may match that of theexternal bottom surface of the chamber 20, so that the support bracket10 will not obstruct the rotation of the chamber 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the support bracket 10 having the support arms 101 may function as astand that holds the chamber 20 in its position while being rotated. Insome embodiments, the support bracket 10 may also include one or morefeet 15 (shown in FIG. 1B) beneath the bottom thereof. The feet 15 maybe made of rubber and provide sufficient friction to prevent lateraldisplacement of the device 100 when the chamber 20 is rotating or thedevice 100 is accidentally pushed. In some embodiments, at least one ofthe feet 15 may be a wheel, so that the animal waste handling device 100can roll on the surface where it stands and avoid the necessity of beingpicked up, thus making it easy for a user to rearrange the position ofthe device 100, especially with heavy litter material in the chamber 20.

In some embodiments, the support bracket 10 also includes an animalsensor 19 adapted to detect entry into or exit from the chamber 20 bythe animal. The animal sensor 19 may be located near the opening of thechamber 20 (as shown in FIG. 1A). In some embodiments, the sensor 19 isan infrared sensor or the like that detects change of light thatindicates the animal's entry or exit of the chamber 20. In otherembodiments (not shown), the sensor may be located inside the chamber 20to carry out the detection of entry or exit by the animal. For example,the sensor can be a millimeter-wave radar positioned near or on apartition wall 23 (shown in FIG. 5A) or a pair of infrared sensorsprovided on the left and right inner sides of the chamber 20. Theabovementioned sensors may be collectively referred to as “light wavesensors.” Upon detection of entry, the device 100 may be activated aftera predetermined time, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 seconds, any range boundedby the upper end by any of these values, or in any range defined by anytwo of these values. The activated device 100 may monitor the presenceof the animal inside the chamber 20, and prevent any movement of thechamber 20 or the screen filter 30 until no animal is inside. Theactivated device 100 may also sense the animal exits the chamber 20.After sensing an entry signal and an exit signal in sequence, the sensor19 may activate, through a microprocessor or other components of thedevice 100, the rotation of the chamber 20 and the movement of thescreen filter 30. Thus, the animal will not be trapped inside thechamber 20 or get hurt by the rotation or the movement. Upon completionof the animal waste disposition, the device 100 may hibernate afteranother predetermined time, such as 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 120, 180 seconds,any range bounded by the lower end by any of these values, or in anyrange defined by any two of these values. Alternatively, the hibernationperiod may also be set by a user of the device 100 to a value notlimited to the ones described above.

In other embodiments, the animal sensor 19 may include one or moreweight sensors (not shown) provided below the chamber 20. The weightsensors may be used to detect any change of weight of the entire chamber20, either caused by an entry or an exit of the animal or a weightchange of the litter material and/or the animal waste. The weightsensors may include force collector sensors, piezoresistive strainsensors, capacitive sensors, electromagnetic sensors, optical sensors,force balancing sensors, or a combination of two or more thereof. In yetother embodiments, the animal sensor 19 may include one or moreaccelerometers and/or one or more gyroscopes, so that the device 100 maydetermine whether there is any movement or dislocation of the chamber 20caused by the entry or exit of the animal. The light wave sensors, theweight sensors, the accelerometers, and the gyroscopes described aboveare not mutually exclusive, and some or all of them may be collectivelyemployed in some embodiments consistent with the present disclosure.Signals from one or more animal sensors 19 may be supplied to themicroprocessor to analyze and determine whether an animal has entered orexited, or is present within the chamber 20.

Referring to FIGS. 1D and 2 , the animal waste handling device 100 mayinclude a first driver 11. The first driver 11 may be turned on to drivethe chamber 20 to rotate around the axis passing through the pair ofrotation points 13, as described above. The first driver 11 may includeone of a gearbox, a drive chain, a lever, a push rod, or a pull rod, orany other driving mechanism without departing from the spirit of thisdisclosure. FIG. 2 shows one example of the first driver 11 thatincludes a gearbox having a driving gear 111 and a driven gear 112. Thedriving gear 111 may be fixed to the bottom plate 102 of the supportbracket 10 and connected to a motor 113. The motor 113 may beelectrically powered. In other embodiments, the driving gear 111 and themotor 113 may be attached directly to one or both of the support arms102. The driven gear 112 may be fixed to the bottom and/or back of thechamber 20. Therefore, when the driving gear 111 starts rotating, itdrives the driven gear 112 to move the chamber 20 along thecircumference of the driven gear 112, which may be circular, oval, orany other shape suitable for the purpose of the present disclosure. Insome embodiments, at least one of the chamber 20 and the screen filter30 may be driven manually by the user. For example, the rotation of thechamber 20 may be controlled by a roller (not shown), and the movementof the screen filter 30 may be controlled by a knob (not shown).

According to the present disclosure, the chamber 20 may have a frontguard 27, a pair of side walls 28, and a back wall 29, as shown in FIG.2 , which jointly form the outer casing of the chamber 20. The pair ofside walls 28 may be parallel to each other. When assembled, the frontguard 27 and the back wall 29 may be perpendicularly connected to bothof the side walls 28. The front guard 27 may shield internal componentsof the device 100 from being damaged by the animals. The back wall 29may be a curvy wall having an arc shape, extending through and coveringthe back of the chamber 20 and at least a portion of the top of thechamber 20. The back wall 29 may have an opening 14 to allow the animalto enter or exit the chamber 20. In some embodiments, the front guard 27may include a screen bar facing the front. In other embodiments, thescreen bar and the sensor 19 may be combined at one location, such as atthe front side of the base 103. The screen bar may include an LED screenthat illustrates status information of the device 100, such as mode (inactivation or hibernation), battery power, rotation speed, maximumrotation angle, wireless connectivity, etc. The screen bar may alsoinclude an LCD screen, an OLED screen, or any other screen componentsuitable for the purpose of the present disclosure. The device 100 mayfurther include a foldable protector 25 positioned between the chamber20 and the support bracket 10, which will be discussed in more detail inconjunction with FIGS. 12A-12E and 13A-13E.

According to the present disclosure, the chamber 20 may have two innerspaces that hold litter material and animal waste when the device 100operates at different positions, which are referred to herein as anopening container 201 and a storage container 202 (both shown in FIGS.5A and 5B). These two containers 201 and 202 may be joined at least byone edge close to the rotation points 13 so that the litter material andthe animal waste may be transferred between these two containers 201 and202 when the chamber 20 is rotated (the details of which will behereinafter discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 7A-7D). As shown inFIGS. 1A and 1C, the chamber 20 provides an opening 14 for an animal tocome in and deposit animal waste into the opening container 201. Thechamber 20 may be partially filled with litter material at the openingcontainer 201 at the standby position, which refers to a position priorto any movement of the chamber 20, such as that shown in FIG. 1B. Insome embodiments, the chamber 20 is rotatable around the axis passingthrough rotation points 13 and the litter material in the chamber 20will roll and fall under gravity, thus achieving the goal oftransferring the litter material between two containers 201 and 202.

The shape of the opening 14 of the chamber 20 may be square,rectangular, circular, oval, or any other similar shape suitable for thedetermined purpose. The outer contour of the chamber 20 may be circular,triangular, rectangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, elliptic cylinder, acombination of two or more such shapes, or any other similar shapesuitable for the determined purpose. In some embodiments, the innerbottom of the chamber 20 has a flat surface, so that the thickness ofthe litter material can be evenly spread out over the bottom of thechamber 20. In other embodiments, the bottom of chamber 20 is slightlycurved to accommodate additional components, such as a removablenonstick vessel 21 shown in FIG. 2 . Whether the bottom is flat orslightly curved, the chamber 20 according to the present disclosure issuperior to its sphere-shaped equivalent of the conventional animalwaste handling devices in that the animal is less likely to stumble andthe litter material is more evenly spread out inside the chamber.

According to the present disclosure, the bottom interior surface of thechamber 20 may include a removable nonstick vessel 21 and the littermaterial may be disposed on the nonstick vessel 21. Sometimes animalwaste cannot totally be wrapped by or agglomerates with the littermaterial, or it falls too fast to the bottom by permeating through thelitter material. This difficulty is especially eminent for animal urine.When this happens, the litter material will clump around the urine afterthe urine drips to the bottom of the chamber 20, thus becoming a stickychunk of waste left on the bottom of the chamber 20 that cannot beautomatically disposed outside the device 100. The nonstick vessel 21,which is positioned at the bottom of the chamber 20 and separates thechamber from the sticky waste, eliminates or significantly reduces theadhesiveness between the chamber 20 and the sticky chunk of waste,making it hard to stick thereon. Thus, when the chamber 20 rotates,perhaps other than a portion of the unsoiled litter material, the littermaterial soiled with the animal waste will roll off the bottom of thechamber 20 automatically, thus leaving the chamber 20 clear of animalwaste. This reduces the need to clean the bottom of the chamber 20 toofrequently. The nonstick vessel 21 can be made of plastic, paper, cloth,or any other material that has a lower adhesiveness with the waste thanthe inner surface of the chamber 20. The surface of the nonstick vessel21 may be coated with a nonstick material to further reduce theadhesiveness between the waste and the nonstick vessel 21.

In some embodiments, the nonstick vessel 21 is removably attached to theinner surface of the chamber 20, such as being attached by only a fewattachment points, attached only to the rim of the chamber 20, orlimited by one or more bumps on the inner side of the chamber 20. Thismakes changing of litter material and cleaning of the chamber 20 mucheasier. In some embodiments, the nonstick vessel 21 is attached to theopening container 201, rather than the storage container 202, since thestorage container 202 is unlikely to get in contact with animal wastewhen the chamber 20 is at the standby position. In some embodiments(shown in FIG. 11A), the nonstick vessel 21 may deform upon meetingcertain conditions (e.g., when its gravity center crosses a certainline, such as a line vertically passing the center of rotation, as thechamber moves). The deformed nonstick vessel 21 may lift the remaininglitter material away from the bottom of the chamber 20 and dump it intostorage container 202, allowing the screen filter 30 to clean up thesurface of the nonstick vessel 21 (the detail of which will be furtherdiscussed in conjunctions with FIGS. 11A-11C). In other embodiments,when the nonstick vessel 21 is made of a flexible or elastic material,the two sides of the nonstick vessel 21 can both be used, thus making itreplaceable by simply turning it upside down and re-attaching to theinner surface of the chamber 20. This increases the usability of thenonstick vessel 21 and reduces the frequency of cleaning it up.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1C, the screen filter 30 is located within thechamber 20 prior to its movement, such as when the animal enters thechamber 20 to deposit the waste. The screen filter 30 is used toseparate the animal waste from the litter material and is designed totransfer the animal waste outside the chamber 20. The screen filter maybe made of plastic, metal or any other material suitable for thedisclosed purpose. It may rotatably connect with the chamber 20 via arotation axis 22. This configuration allows the screen filter 30 torotate between different positions independently from the rotation ofthe chamber 20. The lower end of the screen filter 30, which is the endaway from the rotation axis 22, may be in touch with or within a closedistance from the bottom of the chamber 20. The screen filter 30 mayinclude one or more filter elements 31, so that when the litter materialfalls through the openings between the filter elements 31, the animalwaste will be filtered onto the screen filter 30 and subsequentlytransferred outside the chamber 20. In some embodiments, the screenfilter 30 can be substituted with filters of different sizes of theopenings. The substitution may be done by replacing the screen filter 30entirely or only the filter elements 31. Therefore, the device 100 canhandle animal waste of different sizes.

According to the present disclosure, a microprocessor (not shown) may beprovided to control various electronic parts onboard the animal wastehandling device 100 (e.g., motors, screens, LEDs, sensors, etc.). Themicroprocessor may be disposed inside the support bracket 10, such asbeing fixed to the inner sidewalls of any of the support arms 101. Itmay also be placed within the chamber 20. In some embodiments, themicroprocessor is capable of processing the data detected by thesensors. Computer instructions may be automatically generated upondetection of animal movement by sensors or converted from user inputs.Such computer instructions may actuate or terminate the rotation of thechamber 20 or movement of the screen filter 30 in instances such asdetection of an animal entering or exiting the chamber 20. In someembodiments, the computer instructions may determine the angle ofrotation and the corresponding orientation of the rotation of thechamber 20 or the movement of the screen filter 30. The computerinstructions may also determine the opening and sealing of a receptacle(such as the receptacle 12 shown in FIGS. 5A-5F) attached to the device10.

In order to actuate any drivers, sensors, LEDs, microprocessors, andother electronic parts, electrical power may be supplied to the animalwaste handling device 100. The electrical power can be supplied from apower source, such as a battery, a power bank, a power outlet, oralternatively through a voltage regulator. The power source can chargethe device 100 by electrically coupling thereto (such as through anoutlet 210 shown in FIG. 1D) from outside of or within the device 100.Interconnecting wiring and cables, power supply housing and otherelectronic parts may be used in the device 100. For convenience andsimplicity, the electrical power and the respective electronic partshave not been shown in their entirety in the figures.

In some embodiments, the animal waste handling device 100 may alsoinclude a monitoring system (not shown) for monitoring the animal. Forexample, when the animal is releasing, the monitoring system in thedevice 100 may measure the weight, temperature, amount of the releasedwaste, duration of release, or other physical characteristics of theanimal. In some embodiments, these measured data may be stored andcompared with the prior measurement(s) of the same physicalcharacteristic(s) so that the monitoring system may determine the healthof the animal based on the comparison result. Such measured data may bestored in and read from a storage or memory disposed in the device 100,or in the cloud, a separate system, or another device via wired (such asthrough the outlet 210) or wireless communication links between thedevice 100 and any of the cloud, the system, or the device.

In some embodiments, the operation and movement of the components of theanimal waste handling device 100 can be automatic (e.g., upon detectionof the exit of the animal) or periodical (e.g., regardless when orwhether the animal uses the device 100). In other embodiments, they areremotely controlled by a user through a terminal device (e.g., smartphone, remote controller, etc.).

FIGS. 3A-3D illustrate various perspective views of the screen filter 30of the animal waste handling device 100, according to certainembodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3A illustrates movementtrajectories of the screen filter 30. It is understood that certainparts in FIG. 3A (e.g., 22, 30, 301, 302, 31, 321, 322, 323) are shownas if the sidewalls of the chamber 20 are transparent. These parts areactually shown in FIG. 3A for the purpose of easy reference. Accordingto the present disclosure, the side walls of the chamber 20 may bedesigned to be transparent or non-transparent (such as translucent,opaque, etc.), which similarly applies to the chambers shown in otherfigures, such as FIGS. 5A-5E, 6A-6F, 7A-7D, 8A-8D, 11A-11C, 15A-15B,16A-16C, and 17A-17C. FIG. 3B illustrates an exploded view of the screenfilter 30. FIG. 3C illustrates the screen filter 30 at one position.FIG. 3D illustrates the screen filter 30 at another position.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the screen filter 30 according to the presentdisclosure may include various components that enable the screen filter30 to move along one or more trajectories. The movement of the screenfilter 30 may include at least one of a rotation around the rotationaxis 22 and an extension/retraction, which can be an extension or aretraction of the screen filter 30 relative to the rotation axis 22.When the movement includes only the rotation, the screen filter 30traverses a circular arc trajectory (e.g., trajectory T1). When themovement includes both, the rotation and the extension/retraction can beperformed simultaneously, and the screen filter 30 traverses a curvedtrajectory (e.g., trajectory T2). It is understood that the movement ofthe screen filter 30 according to the present disclosure is not confinedto the types described above; rather, with the teaching of the presentdisclosure, a person skilled in the art may design the screen filter 30to have other configurations that allow it to traverse differenttrajectories.

An exemplary movement of the screen filter 30 will be described inconjunction with FIG. 3A. In some embodiments, the screen filter 30rotates around the rotation axis 22 while extending away from it, thustraversing a path (trajectory T2) from the position P3 (where the screenfilter 30 is in a retracted position) to the position P4 (where thescreen filter 30 is in an extended position). In other embodiments, thescreen filter 30 can rotate around the rotation axis 22 whilemaintaining a fixed distance from it, thus forming a circular arc path.For example, the screen filter 30 can rotate between the position P3 andthe position P4 in a retracted position, thus traversing the trajectoryT1. The screen filter 30 may extend via a foldable hinge or a telescopicrod, or any other mechanism suitable for the purpose described herein.

The screen filter 30 may be driven by a second driver, such as agearbox, a drive chain, a lever, a push rod, a pull rod, manually, orany other driving mechanism suitable for the described purpose. Thesecond driver may be used to drive the retraction or extension of thescreen filter 30, the rotation of the screen filter 30 around therotation axis 22, or both. When in motion, the screen filter 30 canrotate and stop at any position between position P3 and position P4(e.g., an intermediate position Pi shown in FIG. 3D). In someembodiments, the position P3 of the screen filter 30 corresponds to astandby position of the animal waste handling device 100, and theposition P4 of the screen filter 30 corresponds to a waste disposalposition of the animal waste handling device 100.

An exemplary configuration of the screen filter 30 includes filterelements 31. The screen filter 30 may be fixated to the second driverthrough a fastening mechanism and driven by the second driver. In someembodiments, a configuration of the second driver is a mechanical arm32. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 3A, 3C and 3D, the mechanicalarm 32 further includes an upper arm 321 and a lower arm 322. One end ofthe lower arm 322 may be rotatably connected to a filter gear 302, whichin turn is intermeshed with a chamber gear 301 to form a gearwheel, sothat rotational motion may be transmitted from the chamber gear 301 tothe filter gear 302, and subsequently to the lower arm 322. The otherend of the lower arm 322 may be rotatably connected to an end of theupper arm 321, thus further transmitting the rotational motion from thelower arm 322 to the upper arm 321. As a result, the other end of theupper arm 321 may push the screen filter 30 to move. In otherembodiments (not shown), the mechanical arm 32 includes one single pieceof component instead of two or more arms (e.g., one upper arm and onelower arm). The single piece may have one end connected to the gearwheeland the other end pushes the screen filter 30 to move. It is understoodthat the one-piece configuration can be an equivalent to the two-armconfiguration according to the present disclosure in that it drives themovement of the screen filter 30 in the same or similar way as thetwo-arm configuration described herein.

In some embodiments, the chamber gear 301, and thus the second drivermay be powered by a motor (such as the motor 303 shown in FIG. 2 ),which is different from the motor powering the first driver (such as themotor 113 shown in FIG. 2 ). In other embodiments, the first driver andthe second driver may be powered by the same motor or driven by the samecomponent (which will be discussed below in conjunction with FIGS.6A-6F). Therefore, with independently provided two drivers, when thechamber 20 rotates, the screen filter 30 may remain unmoved relative tothe chamber 20 as long as no rotational motion is transmitted to thefilter gear 302, thus separating the rotation of the chamber 20 from themovement of the screen filter 30.

Referring to FIG. 3B, the screen filter 30 according to certainembodiments may resemble a rake in shape, with multiple filter elements31 aligned like a comb. The shape of the filter elements 31 is notlimited to the illustrated shape, and can also be in the shape of amesh, a porous board, or any other shape that is capable of filteringand separating the animal waste from the litter material. The sizes ofthe openings or gaps between adjacent filter elements 31 of the samescreen filter 30 can be the same, so that the filtering result can beconsistent across the width of the screen filter 30. In someembodiments, the sizes of the openings or gaps between adjacent filterelements 31 can vary according to the size of the litter material usedin the chamber 20 or the size of the animal waste from the particularanimal that uses the device 100.

In some embodiments, a fastening mechanism 36 fastens the screen filter30 to a fixation block 33 by one or more mounting screws 362 and one ormore mounting holes 361. Thus, the screen filter 30 may be replaced byloosening the fastening mechanism 36 and re-fastening a new screenfilter of a different configuration or size (e.g., having filterelements with smaller openings or gaps therebetween) to the mechanicalarm. In other embodiments, the fastening mechanism 36 may fixate thescreen filter 30 to the fixation block 33 through other methods, such aswelding, adhesive bonding, or integrated formation. In some embodiments,rather than replacing the screen filter 30 in its entirety, the filterelements 31 can be conveniently removed and replaced from where they areconnected to the other portion of the screen filter 30, such as from themiddle of the screen filter 30.

In some embodiments, the end of the upper arm 321 that pushes the screenfilter to move may be rotatably connected to the fixation block 33 on aside of the fixation block 33. As an example shown in FIG. 3C, theconnection point is in the middle of the side of the fixation block 33.The two ends of the same side of the fixation block 33 may be rotatablyconnected to two stretchers 34, with each end adjoining one tip of oneof the stretchers 34. The other tip of each of the stretchers 34 may berotatably connected to a rotation arm 35. The rotation arm 35 may rotatearound the rotation axis 22. Thus, the second driver according to theseembodiments, such as the mechanical arm 32, may not only drive thescreen filter 30 to rotate around the rotation axis 22, but also causethe screen filter 30 to extend or retract along the directionperpendicular to the rotation direction (e.g., clockwise orcounterclockwise). It is understood that the second driver according tothe present disclosure is not limited to the mechanical arm 32, andother forms of the second driver may be contemplated (such as by addinga guide rail 37 shown in FIG. 3A) so that the rotation and theextension/retraction movements do not necessarily have to besimultaneous.

FIG. 3C illustrates the screen filter 30 at position P3, whichcorresponds to the position P3 in FIG. 3A. FIG. 3D illustrate the screenfilter 30 at position Pi, which is an intermediate position betweenpositions P3 and P4 shown in FIG. 3A. The quadrangle consisting of thefixation block 33, the pair of stretchers 34, and a portion of therotation arm 35 may be folded or unfolded when the screen filter 30moves from one position to another. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3D, whenthe screen filter 30 moves in one direction (e.g., from P3 to P4), therotational motion from the filter gear 302 turns the lower arm 322towards the screen filter 30, thus pushing the upper arm 321 to forcethe quadrangle to fold. As a result, the screen filter 30 extends awayfrom the rotation axis 22 while rotating, thereby traversing the curvedtrajectory T2 (shown in FIG. 3A). When the screen filter 30 moves in anopposite direction (e.g., from P4 to P3), the rotational motion from thefilter gear 302 may also reverse, so that the lower arm 322 may bepulled away from the screen filter 30, thus pulling the upper arm 321 toforce the quadrangle to unfold. As a result, the screen filter 30retracts towards the rotation axis 22 while rotating, thereby rollingback along the curved trajectory T2 (shown in FIG. 3A). It is understoodthat the above movement is just one example of the present screen filter30 and its accompanying second driver, and other movements of the screenfilter may be designed by adjusting the relative angle between the upperarm 321 and lower arm 322, the relative angular velocity between therotation of the screen filter 30 around the rotation axis 22 and therotation of the filter gear 302, or both.

FIGS. 4A and 4B respectively illustrate a side view and a perspectiveview of the rotated chamber 20 of the animal waste handling device 100,according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. As discussedabove, the chamber 20 may be driven by actuating the first driver 11.The chamber 20 can rotate about the rotation point (not shown) from astandby position (shown in FIG. 1B) to a disposition position (shown inFIG. 4A). In some embodiments, the maximum angle of rotation of thechamber 20 between the standby position and the disposition position isbetween 75 and 150 degrees. Thus, the bottom of the chamber 20 mayrotate to or across a vertical position, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, sothat a majority or all of the litter material in the chamber 20 can fallunder gravity and through the screen filter 30. The support bracket 10is designed to support the chamber 20 in different positions consideringthe change of the center of gravity when the chamber 20 and the littermaterial move.

FIG. 5A illustrates a perspective view of the animal waste handlingdevice 100, according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure.The chamber 20 shown in FIG. 5A is in a standby position, prior to anyrotation driven by the first driver 11 having the driving gear 111 andthe driven gear 112. At the standby position, the litter material (notshown) is spread in the chamber 20 evenly in the opening container 201and the bottom of the chamber 20 is at a substantially horizontalposition. The screen filter 30 is retracted at position P3. When theanimal waste handling device 100 is at this position, an animal canenter the chamber 20 through an opening 14 to excrete waste in thelitter material in the opening container 201. In some embodiments, thechamber also includes the storage container 202 formed by the screenfilter 30, the back wall 29, and a partition wall 23. The partition wall23 may be seamlessly adjoined to the back wall 29, thus preventing thelitter material from leaking to the further back of the chamber 20. Thestorage container 202 may be used to collect the litter material afterthe chamber 20 rotates to the disposition position to dump the animalwaste.

In some embodiments, the animal waste handling device 100 may beprovided with a receptacle 12 adjacent to or connected to the supportbracket 10. The receptacle 12 can collect the animal waste dumped fromthe chamber 20. In some embodiments, the receptacle 12 may be designedto have a lid 121 that can open when the waste is about to fall from thechamber 20. The receptacle 12 may be controlled by the samemicroprocessor inside the device 100 or a separate microprocessorprovided in the receptacle 12, so the receptacle 12 is able to determinewhen the screen filter 30 is about to or has started to move and thusopen the lid 121 before the waste is dumped from the chamber 20. In someembodiments, the receptacle 12 is a sealable container, which mayinclude a bag, a box, a bucket, or in any other form suitable to achievethe described purpose. The receptacle 12 may be made of plastic, paper,wood, metal, a combination of two or more thereof, or any other suitablematerial. The receptacle 12 may include a reusable container that theuser can empty or a disposable container that the user can throw awayafter it is substantially full. In some embodiments, the device 100 mayinclude one or more backup receptacles, each of which may have at leastone of volume, size, shape, position of an opening, and connection tothe device 100 that is different from that of the receptacle 12. Thus,the backup receptacles may accommodate the use of the device 100 byanimals of different sizes or species.

According to the present disclosure, the receptacle 12 may include oneor more weight sensors to monitor the weight of waste disposed insidethe receptacle 12. For example, when the receptacle 12 is properlyinstalled to the support bracket 10, the weight sensors are placed atvarious positions of the receptacle 12, which can be used to detect anychange of weight of the receptacle 12 and the change of weight of thecontents therein. The receptacle weight sensors can be force collectorsensor, piezoresistive strain sensor, capacitive sensor, electromagneticsensor, optical sensor, force balancing sensor, a combination of two ormore thereof, or any other suitable sensor. One or more receptacleweight signals may be supplied to the microprocessor for determiningwhether the receptacle 12 is full of the animal waste (e.g., reachingthe maximum capability of handling the waste). Besides, one or morewaste level gauges may be provided inside the receptacle 12, which candetect the level of waste accumulated in the receptacle 12. A wastelevel gauge may be an infrared sensor, a laser sensor, a camera, acombination of two or more thereof, or any other suitable sensor. One ormore waste level signals may be supplied to the microprocessor fordetermining whether the receptacle 12 is full or substantially full ofthe animal waste or not. “Substantially full” used in these embodimentsmay have the meaning that more than 80 percent of the volume of thereceptacle 12 is occupied. In other embodiments, the meaning of“substantially full” may change according to a preset value of theanimal waste handling device 100, or a value set by the user.

It is understood that the receptacle 12 described herein is not anecessary component of the animal waste handling device according to thepresent disclosure and may be dispensed in some embodiments. Forexample, the device 100 may be positioned near a sewage system to whichthe animal waste can be readily disposed. In another example, the device100 may be positioned in an outside field, such as a backyard of a houseor villa, and thus dumping the animal waste to the ground may helpnourish the soil in the vicinity of the device 100.

FIG. 5B illustrates another perspective view of the animal wastehandling device 100, according to certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As shown herein, the chamber 20 starts to rotate from thestandby position towards the disposition position, while the screenfilter 30 stays at the position P3. The first driver 11 drives thechamber 20 to move at an angular speed suitable for the litter materialand the animal waste to gradually roll towards the storage container202. When the chamber 20 rotates, the litter material and the animalwaste start to roll over to the screen filter 30 due to gravity. Thescreen filter 30 subsequently filters out the animal waste, and thelitter material sifts through the screen filter 30 and falls down to thestorage container 202. In some embodiments, the receptacle 12 starts toopen the lid 121 when the chamber 20 starts to rotate. The receptacle 12can also wait until the chamber 20 stops, then open the lid 121 and getready to receive the animal waste while the screen filter 30 starts tomove.

FIG. 5C illustrates another perspective view of the animal wastehandling device 100, according to certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The chamber 20 stops at the disposition position and thescreen filter 30 remains in the chamber 20 at the position P3. Therotation from the standby position to the disposition position of thechamber 20 can be between 75 to 150 degrees. The lid 121 of thereceptacle 12 is fully open. In some embodiments, when the chamber 20 isat the disposition position, the screen filter 30 lies horizontally, orthe tip of the screen filter 30 is not lower than the rotation axis 22,thus preventing the animal waste from rolling back into the openingcontainer 201. The storage container 202 has a volume big enough toreceive all litter material sifted through the screen filter 30, so thatthe upper surface of the litter material does not exceed the screenfilter 30. The screen filter 30 can filter out the animal waste out ofthe litter material, and the litter material can slip under the screenfilter 30.

FIG. 5D illustrates another perspective view of the animal wastehandling device 100, according to certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure. This time the chamber 20 remains still at the dispositionposition, while the screen filter 30 starts to move from the position P3towards the position P4 after the chamber stops for a predeterminedtime, such as 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5 seconds, any range boundedby the upper end by any of these values, or in any range defined by anytwo of these values. Thus, the animal waste can be transported frominside the chamber 20 to the screen filter 30, and then dumped outsidethe chamber 20. Although not shown in the figures, it is understoodthat, in other embodiments, the movement of the screen filter 30 canalso commence while the chamber 20 is still rotating, which acceleratesthe waste handling process. These movement sequences are made possibleunder the present disclosure because, as described herein, the rotationof the chamber 20 and the movement of the screen filter 30 are drivenseparately by different drivers.

In the embodiments where the screen filter 30 starts movement before orafter the rotation of the chamber 20 completely stops, as distinguishedfrom the embodiments where the screen filter 30 starts movement beforethe rotation of the chamber 20 starts (such as those described inconjunction with FIGS. 9A and 9B), such movements of the screen filter30 are referred to in the present disclosure as following the rotationof the chamber 20. The term “follow” used herein has the meaning thatthe start of the screen filter movement comes after the start of thechamber movement.

In some embodiments, the screen filter 30 may move prior to the rotationof the chamber 20. For example, in order to create a larger filteringarea prior to separating the litter material with the animal waste viachamber rotation, the screen filter 30 may first extend so that the endof the screen filter 30 that is further away from the rotation axis 22may reach closer to the bottom of the chamber 20. After the extension,the chamber 20 may start to rotate from the standby position to thedisposition position, and the remaining movement of the screen filter 30(including the remaining portion of the extension or retraction, therotation, or both) may follow the rotation of the chamber 20.

In some embodiments, the second driver (e.g., the mechanical arm 32)drives the screen filter 30 to extend from a retracted position to anextended position. The screen filter 30 may extend from the retractedposition to the extended position while it rotates around the rotationaxis 22. Alternatively, it may rotate while remaining at the retractedposition, the extended position, or any intermediate position betweenthese two positions. As the screen filter 30 moves, the animal wastestarts to roll along the slope of the screen filter 30, passes throughthe opening 14 of the chamber 20, and falls down to the receptacle 12.The rotation axis 22 substantially aligns with the edge of the opening14, and therefore the animal waste can completely and smoothly roll offthe screen filter 30.

FIG. 5E illustrates another perspective view of the animal wastehandling device 100, according to certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The screen filter 30 stops movement at the position P4. Themaximum rotation angle of the screen filter 30 around the rotation axis22 between the positions P3 and P4 can be between 45 and 90 degrees.This enables the animal waste to be separated from the screen filter 30due to gravity, and to fall outside of the chamber 20. FIG. 5Fillustrates a side view of the animal waste handling device 100 when thechamber 20 is at the disposition position.

According to the present disclosure, during the animal waste handlingprocess, the specific rotation angle for the chamber 20 and the screenfilter 30 can be set to be any degree between zero and their respectivemaximum rotation angles. In one example, when the maximum rotation angleof the chamber 20 is 135 degrees and that of the screen filter 30 aroundthe rotation axis 22 is 90 degrees, the device 100 can be set (e.g., byuser) to rotate the chamber 20 for 105 degrees and the screen filter 30for 75 degrees, which, upon completion, has a position similar to thatshown in FIG. 5E. In another example, when the maximum rotation angle ofthe chamber 20 is 90 degrees and that of the screen filter 30 around therotation axis 22 is 45 degrees, the device 100 can be set (e.g., byuser) to rotate the chamber 20 for 80 degrees and the screen filter 30for 40 degrees, which, upon completion, has a position similar to thatshown in FIG. 7D.

FIGS. 6A-6C respectively illustrate various views of another animalwaste handling device 600, according to certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The components of the device 600 that are the sameas those of the animal waste handling device 100 are identified with thesame numbers, the description of which will not be repeated for brevitypurpose. The device 600 differentiates from the device 100 in that thefirst driver driving the chamber 20 and the second driver driving thescreen filter 30 may be actuated by the same component (e.g., adriving/chamber gear 304, a motor (not shown) powering thedriving/chamber gear 304, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 6A, when the chamber 20 is in the standby position, thedriven gear 112 and the driving/chamber gear 304 of the device 600 mayintermesh in order to function in the similar way as the first driver 11of the device 100. In some embodiments, the driving/chamber gear 304 maybe powered by a motor (not shown). When the driving/chamber gear 304rotates, the rotational motion may be transmitted to the chamber 20 viathe driven gear 112, thereby driving the chamber 20 between differentpositions, such as the standby position and the disposition position. Atthe disposition position, the litter material in the chamber 20 may siftthrough the screen filter 30 down to the back portion of the chamber 20.When the chamber 20 is at the standby position, the screen filter 30 maybe located within the chamber 20 at a position P3′. The screen filter 30may be rotatably connected to the filter gear 302, which is adjacent toan end of the driven gear 112.

As shown in FIG. 6B, when the chamber 20 gradually rotates to thedisposition position, the screen filter 30 may remain at the positionP3′. In some embodiments, the rotation of the chamber 20 causes thedriven gear 112 to traverse substantially its circumference until thedriving/chamber gear 304 meets the filter gear 302. Thereafter, thedriving/chamber gear 304 may intermesh with the filter gear 302 in orderto function in the similar way as the second driver of the device 100.In some embodiments, the rotational motion from the driving/chamber gear304 may be transmitted to the screen filter 30 via the filter gear 302so that the screen filter 30 may rotate around the axis 22 betweendifferent positions, such as the position P3′ and a position P4′, asshown in FIG. 6C. In some embodiments, the screen filter 30 may also beextended or retracted before, during, or after it is rotated, such as bybeing connected to a mechanical arm or the like. At the position P4′,the animal waste may be dumped outside the chamber 20 by the screenfilter 30.

FIGS. 6D-6F respectively illustrate various views of yet another animalwaste handling device 600′, according to certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The components of the device 600′ that are the sameas those of the animal waste handling device 100 are identified with thesame numbers, the description of which will not be repeated for brevitypurpose. Similar to the device 600, the device 600′ differentiates fromthe device 100 in that the first driver driving the chamber 20 and thesecond driver driving the screen filter 30 may be actuated by the samecomponent (e.g., a driving/chamber gear 305, a motor (not shown)powering the driving/chamber gear 305, etc.). The device 600′differentiates from the device 600 in that the chamber 20 and the screenfilter 30 of the device 600′ may be simultaneously driven by the firstdriver and the second driver, respectively. In addition, the device 600′includes a mechanical arm having an upper arm 321 and a lower arm 322.

As shown in FIG. 6D, when the chamber 20 is in the standby position, thedriven gear 112 and the driving/chamber gear 305 of the device 600 mayintermesh in order to function in the similar way as the first driver 11of the device 100, and the filter gear 302 and the driving/chamber gear305 of the device 600 may intermesh in order to function in the similarway as the second driver of the device 100. In some embodiments, thedriving/chamber gear 305 may be powered by a motor (not shown). When thedriving/chamber gear 305 rotates, the rotational motion may betransmitted to the chamber 20 via the driven gear 112, thereby drivingthe chamber 20 between different positions, such as the standby positionand the disposition position. The same rotational motion of thedriving/chamber gear 305 may also be transmitted to the screen filter 30via the filter gear 302, thereby causing the lower arm 322 and the upperarm 321 to push and pull the screen filter between different positions,such as a position P3″ (the in-chamber position of the screen filter 30when the chamber 20 is in the standby position) and a position P4″ (thefurthest position of the screen filter 30 to which it can be pushed bythe lower arm 322 and the upper arm 321). Such movement of the screenfilter 30 may involve at least one of a rotation around the axis 22 andan extension/retraction. Thus, the chamber rotation and the screenfilter movement may occur simultaneously, though the duration of chamberrotation may or may not be the same as the duration of screen filtermovement.

As shown in FIG. 6E, when the chamber 20 gradually rotates to thedisposition position and the screen filter 30 moves towards the positionP4″, the litter material in the chamber 20 may begin to sift through thescreen filter 30 down to the back portion of the chamber 20. In someembodiments, the rotation of the chamber 20 causes the driven gear 112to traverse substantially its circumference until the driving/chambergear 305 meets the end of the driven gear 112. In some embodiments, thescreen filter 30 may also be extended or retracted before, during, orafter it is rotated with the similar configuration between themechanical arm and the screen filter 30 as described in conjunction withFIGS. 3A-3D. At the position P4″, the animal waste may be dumped outsidethe chamber 20 by the screen filter 30, as shown in FIG. 6F.

FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate schematic diagrams of a process of waste handlingby a device 700, according to certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The device 700 has the same components as the animal wastehandling device 100 discussed above. These components are assigned thesame numerals but simplified for the ease of illustration of theprocess. The waste disposition process is at least partiallyaccomplished due to the gravity of the litter material and the animalwaste. Therefore, intervals can be created between steps of the processto ensure the gravity-assisted process to complete, thus achieving thedesired result.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the chamber 20 is at the standby position andsupported by the support bracket 10. The chamber 20 can hold a certainvolume of litter material 50 in the opening container 201. An animal mayenter the chamber 20 and excrete waste therein, which then soils oragglomerates with the litter material 50 to form the animal waste 51.After the animal exits the device 700, the device 700 may detect thedeparture of the animal and automatically initiate the process of wastehandling. In other embodiments, the process can be triggered by userinput. At the standby position, the screen filter 30 is yet to move andseparates the opening container 201 from the storage container 202.

Referring to FIG. 7B, the chamber 20 starts to rotate from asubstantially horizontal position towards a vertical position, while thescreen filter 30 remains unmoved relative to the chamber 20. The littermaterial 50 starts to fall through the screen filter 30 from the openingcontainer 201 to the storage container 202, and the animal waste 51 isseparated and left on the screen filter 30.

Referring to FIG. 7C, the chamber 20 stops rotating at the dispositionposition. The litter material 50 has completely fallen through thescreen filter 30 and down to the storage container 202, which is formedby the chamber 20 and the partition wall 23. At the same time the animalwaste 51 is left on the screen filter 30 to be disposed. The storagecontainer 202 is spacious enough to receive all of the sifted littermaterial 50. The upper surface of the litter material 50 is below thescreen filter 30. After the chamber 20 stops, the screen filter 30starts to move.

Referring to FIG. 7D, the screen filter 30 moves about the rotation axis22 and disposes the animal waste 51. The screen filter 30 moves from arelatively horizontal position (shown in FIG. 7C) to a relativelyvertical position, thus dumping the animal waste 51 out of the chamber20 via gravity. The chamber 20 may remain still during this dumpingstep. After the animal waste 51 is disposed out of the chamber 20, theanimal waste handling device 100 completes the animal waste handlingprocess.

FIGS. 8A-8D illustrate schematic diagrams of a process of spreading outlitter material in the animal waste handling device 700, according tocertain embodiments of the present disclosure. After the process ofanimal waste handling, the device 700 can rotate back to the standbyposition and become ready for the next use by the animal. The littermaterial 50 can be restored to the standby level as well. The littermaterial spread-out process is at least partially accomplished due tothe gravity of the litter material. Therefore, intervals can be createdbetween steps of the process to ensure the gravity-assisted process tocomplete, thus achieving the desired result.

Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, the screen filter 30 moves back from theposition P4 to the position P3 after it remains at the position P4 for afirst predetermined time (e.g., 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60 seconds,any range bounded by the upper end by any of these values, or in anyrange defined by any two of these values), and the chamber 20 rotatesback from the disposition position to the standby position after itremains at the disposition position for a second predetermined time(e.g., 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 120 seconds, any range bounded by theupper end by any of these values, or in any range defined by any two ofthese values). In some embodiments, the rotation of the chamber 20 canstart after the commencement or completion of the movement of the screenfilter 30 from the position P4 to the position P3. In some embodiments,the movement of the screen filter 30 from the position P4 to theposition P3 can start after the commencement or completion of therotation of the chamber 20. In some embodiments, the screen filter 30and the chamber 20 return to their respective starting positions (i.e.,the position P3 for the screen filter 30 and the standby position forthe chamber 20) at the same time or sequentially in any order. Althoughthe litter material 50 starts to flow back to the chamber 20 from thestorage container 202 to the opening container 201, sometimes it is notevenly spread out in the chamber 20 and some of it may be still left inthe storage container 202. This is not ideal for the next use by theanimal, because, due to the uneven spread of the litter material 50, thewaste may be excreted directly on the bottom or sidewall of the chamber20 instead of soiling the litter material 50 to form large-chunkedanimal waste (not shown).

Referring to FIG. 8C, to resolve the above issue, the chamber 20 furtherrotates to a spread position after rotating back from the dispositionposition to the standby position. The rotation direction of the chamber20 from the standby position to the spread position is the same as thatfrom the disposition position to the standby position (e.g.,counterclockwise as shown in FIGS. 8A-8C), so that the litter material50 fully flows back to the opening container 201. In this position, thelitter material 50 possibly left in the storage container 202 will fallback into the opening container 201 via gravity. The maximum rotationangle between the standby position and the spread position can bebetween 5 and 45 degrees. The specific rotation angle for the chamber 20to rotate between the standby position and the spread position can beset (e.g., by user) to be any degree between zero and the maximumrotation angle.

Referring to FIG. 8D, the chamber 20 subsequently rotates from thespread position back to the standby position. The litter material 50 canthus be evenly spread out in the opening container 201. If the evennessof the litter material 50 is not achieved, the steps of spreading outillustrated in FIGS. 8C and 8D can be repeated until it is achieved.Like the other steps, intervals can be created between steps of thisspread-out process to ensure the gravity-assisted process to complete.

FIGS. 9A-9B illustrate perspective views of an operation of the animalwaste handling device 100, according to certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure. To make the litter material (not shown) more evenlyspread in the chamber 20, the screen filter 30 can be used to combthrough the litter material. In some embodiments, the screen filter 30can move between the position P3 and another position P6. The directionof the movement may be the same as the movement from the position P3 tothe position P4 (e.g., clockwise as shown in FIGS. 9A-9B). It isunderstood that the position P6 may or may not match the position P4. Asshown in FIG. 9A, when the screen filter 30 is at the position P3, itmay be in a retracted position at or near the edge of the openingcontainer 201. Its tip may be away from the bottom of the chamber 20 sothat it will not interfere with the gravity-assisted spread-out processdescribed in conjunction with FIGS. 8A-8D. As shown in FIG. 9B, when thescreen filter 30 starts to move towards the position P6, it may includeat least one of the two movements—rotation around the rotation axis 22and extension driven by the mechanical arm (not shown). In this way, itsend away from the rotation axis 22 may comb through the litter materialin the chamber 20 and cause the litter material to be more evenly spreadwithin the chamber 20. This combing process can be performed upon theuser's request or employed as a periodical routine, such as once everythree times of disposition.

Moreover, when the extension is involved, the screen filter 30 can reachdeep and even touch with the bottom surface of the chamber 20 or thebottom surface of the removable nonstick vessel 21 (shown in FIGS.10A-10B), and therefore the screen filter 30 is able to clean or scratchoff any animal waste sticking thereon. This cleansing process can alsobe performed upon the user's request or employed as a periodicalroutine, such as once every three times of disposition.

FIGS. 10A-10B illustrate perspective views of the removable nonstickvessel 21 of the animal waste handling device 100, according to certainembodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 10A, thenonstick vessel 21 is removable from the chamber 20. In someembodiments, the nonstick vessel 21 is designed in a shape suitable tofit into the chamber 20, which can be circular, triangular, rectangular,pentagonal, hexagonal, elliptic cylinder, or any other similar shapesuitable for the determined purpose. In some embodiments, the nonstickvessel 21 can have a flat inner bottom so that the thickness of thelitter material layer inside the nonstick vessel 21 is even. Thenonstick vessel 21 can be attached to the chamber 20 with a fixationmechanism easy to be removed by a user's hands. One example of such afixation mechanism includes one or more snap joints. In someembodiments, the dimension of the opening of the chamber 20 is smallerthan that of the nonstick vessel 21, which is made of flexiblematerials, such as rubber, polymer, plastic, paper, bamboo, etc., sothat when being inserted into the chamber 20, the nonstick vessel 21 canfully extend and fit with the snap joints, making it more robustlyattached to the chamber 20. The flexibility of the nonstick vessel 21also allows it to deform under gravity when being rotated (such as thatshown in FIG. 11A), and to restore to its original form when being laiddown at the standby position.

FIGS. 11A-11C illustrate perspective views of an operation of the animalwaste handling device 100, according to certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In some embodiments, when the chamber 20 rotates andstops at the disposition position, the nonstick vessel 21 can deform anddetach from the inner bottom of the chamber 20 under gravity. Thedeformation causes the animal waste (not shown) sticking to the nonstickvessel 21 to bounce off, thus achieving superior cleaning result.Moreover, if there is any remaining animal waste that does not bounceoff, the screen filter 30 can chip away and clean off the sticky wasteleft on it, and then dump it outside the chamber 20, as shown in FIG.11B. In some embodiments, the shape of the screen filter 30 resembles ashovel or a rake, making it easier to chip away the sticky waste. Thiscleansing process of the nonstick vessel 21 can be performed every timewhen the screen filter 30 disposes the animal waste and the chamber 20is at the disposition position. Alternatively, it can be employed as aperiodical routine, such as once every three times of disposition. Insome embodiments, after the nonstick vessel 21 is removed, it can berotated 90, 180, or 270 degrees and then installed back, so that eachquarter or half of the nonstick vessel 21 can be regularly cleaned off.In some embodiments, the nonstick vessel 21 may be made of a flexiblematerial, so that it can be turned upside down and installed back intothe chamber 20, thus improving the durability and longevity of use forthe nonstick vessel 21.

FIGS. 12A-12E illustrate various views of a foldable protector 25 of theanimal waste handling device 100, according to certain embodiments ofthe present disclosure. In some embodiments described in conjunctionwith FIGS. 4A and 4B, the first driver 11 may be exposed out of thebottom of the chamber 20 when the chamber 20 rotates to the dispositionposition. To protect the first driver 11 from being tampered or damagedor to prevent the animal using the device 100 being squeezed or clampedtherein while the chamber 20 is rotating, the device 100 may furtherinclude a foldable protector 25 that covers the outer bottom of thechamber 20 as it rotates, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B. The firstdriver 11 can thus be concealed beneath the foldable protector 25,whether the device 100 is in operation mode or standby mode. Thefoldable protector 25 can further cover the gap between the bottomportion of the chamber 20 and the upper portion of the support bracket10, with one end of it attached to the bottom of the chamber 20 and theother end attached to a part of the device 100 other than the chamber 20(such as the base 103 as shown in FIG. 2 ).

The foldable protector 25 shown in FIGS. 12A-12B has a bellow-likeshape. The foldable protector 25 may include a plurality of leaves 26.The foldable protector 25 may fold and extend like an accordion. Oneexample of the leaf 26 is shown in FIG. 12C. The plurality of leaves 26may be adjoined together by, for example, mounting pins, adhesion, orintegrated formation, so that the foldable protector 25 can spread andcollect like a working accordion. The plurality of the leaves 26 can allhave the same dimensions, so that when the chamber 20 rotates from thedisposition position to the standby position, the foldable protector 25can fold all together into the same dimensions as one single leaf 26except that the folded protector 25 is thicker, as shown in FIG. 12D.Correspondingly, the foldable protector 25 can extend when the chamber20 rotates from the standby position to the disposition position, asshown in FIG. 12E. The foldable protector 25 leaves no or very littlespace at the bottom of the animal waste handling device 100 at anyposition, so that no animal will get stuck therein. The foldableprotector 25 can be made of paper, plastic, cloth, metal, alloy, or anyother material suitable for the described purpose.

FIGS. 13A-13E illustrate various views of a foldable protector 25 of theanimal waste handling device 100, according to certain embodiments ofthe present disclosure. The difference of the foldable protector 25 ofthese embodiments from that of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 12A-12E isthat the foldable protector 25 here has a fan-shape. The foldableprotector 25 may include a plurality of fins 261, instead of leaves 26.As a result, the foldable protector 25 in FIGS. 13A-13E may fold andextend like a hand fan. One example of the fin 261 is shown in FIG. 13C.Each fin 261 may include a pair of mounting pins 262. The plurality offins 261 may be mounted via their respective pairs of mounting pins 262,so that the foldable protector 25 can spread and collect around themounting pins 262. The plurality of the fins 261 can have substantiallythe same size and shape. In some embodiments, the size of the fin 261 onthe inner side of the foldable protector 25 is smaller than that on theouter side, so that the inner-side fin 261 may fit within andimmediately adjacent to the inner boundary of the outside-side fin 261,just like a foldable fan. Thus, when the chamber 20 rotates from thedisposition position to the standby position, the foldable protector 25can fold all together into the same dimensions as one single fin 261except that the folded protector 25 is thicker, as shown in FIG. 13D.Correspondingly, the foldable protector 25 can extend when the chamber20 rotates from the standby position to the disposition position, asshown in FIG. 13E. The foldable protector 25 leaves no or very littlespace at the bottom of the animal waste handling device 100 at anyposition, so that no animal will get stuck therein. Similar to thefoldable protector 25 shown in FIGS. 12A-12E, the foldable protector 25here can also be made of paper, plastic, cloth, metal, alloy, or anyother material suitable for the described purpose.

FIG. 14 illustrates a side view of the animal waste handling device 100,according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. The animalwaste handling device 100 may further include a receptacle sensor 17.The receptacle sensor 17 may be located inside the chamber 20 (e.g.,near the back of the chamber 20 as shown in FIG. 14 ), or in the supportbracket 10 (not shown). The receptacle sensor 17 may detect theexistence or operation mode of the receptacle 12, or the volume orweight level of the waste collected by the receptacle 12. When thereceptacle 12 is placed adjacent to or connected to the chamber 20, thereceptacle sensor 17 may determine the type of the receptacle 12 (whichwill be further discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 15A-17C), theposition of the receptacle 12, the status of the lid (if any) of thereceptable 12. The receptacle sensor 17 may be a light sensor, a lasersensor, a Hall Effect sensor, a RFID sensor, or any other sensorsuitable for the described purpose. The device 100 may be pre-installedwith identifier information that allows the receptacle sensor 17 torecognize the key features of each type of the receptacle 12. Thereceptacle sensor 17 may also detect whether the receptacle 12 is placedor connected correctly to receive the animal waste dumped from thechamber 20. In some embodiments, the receptacle sensor 17 sends afeedback signal to the microprocessor, and the microprocessor willcontrol the chamber 20 or the screen filter 30 to initiate the wastehandling process when the receptacle sensor 17 detects that thereceptacle 12 is correctly placed or connected, thus ready for use.

FIGS. 15A-15B, 16A-16C, and 17A-17C illustrate various examples of thereceptacle 12. As previously discussed, the receptacle 12 can be used tocollect the animal waste from the chamber 20. The receptacle 12 can be abag, a box, a bucket, or in any other form suitable to achieve thedescribed purpose. In some embodiments, the receptacle 12 includes anodor-removal substance, such as an inside cartridge with activatedcarbon to absorb odor from the animal waste. Thus, the device 100 can beused in a limited living space without unpleasant odor. In someembodiments, the receptacle 12 includes a cleaning component thatautomatically cleans the waste. The cleaning component may include awaste processing mechanism, such as a substance to decompose the waste,or a chemical to purify the waste. The cleaning component may alsoinclude an anti-bacterial substance that kills bacteria and preventbacteria from growing inside the receptacle 12. In some embodiments, thereceptacle 12 is further connected to a sewage system, and thus theanimal waste can fall into the cleaning component and then be flushedaway into the sewage system by water or air, saving the user's time frommanually disposing the animal waste out of the receptacle 12. Theopening and closing of the receptacle 12 can be controlled by themicroprocessor. In some embodiments, the receptacle 12 is adapted toopen after the chamber 20 stops at the disposition position and beforethe screen filter 30 moves to dump the animal waste. In someembodiments, the receptacle 12 is adapted to close after the screenfilter 30 stops movement at the position P4 for a predetermined time, atwhich time the animal waste has had enough time to roll down into thereceptacle 12. An additional benefit of providing the receptacle 12adjacent to the chamber 20 with a decent height, as opposed to theconventional waste collector positioned underneath, could eliminateuneven stacking of the disposed waste inside the receptacle 12 and thusincrease the usage efficiency to at least 50% of the volume of thereceptacle 12. Moreover, as discussed above, each of the receptacles 12disclosed herein is replaceable with a backup receptacle that isdifferent from the receptacle 12 being replaced with respect to at leastone of volume, size, shape, position of an opening, and connection tothe device 100.

FIGS. 15A-15B illustrate schematic diagrams of an exemplary receptacle12 of the animal waste handling device 100, according to certainembodiments of the present disclosure. In these embodiments, thereceptacle 12 is positioned adjacent to the back of the chamber 20 anddetached from the chamber 20. The receptacle 12 can be a box with orwithout a lid. The receptacle 12 remains at the same place when thechamber 20 rotates between different positions, thus minimizing thepossibility of spilling the animal waste 51 and keeps the workingenvironment of the device 100 clean.

FIGS. 16A-16C illustrate schematic diagrams of another exemplaryreceptacle 12 of the animal waste handling device 100, according tocertain embodiments of the present disclosure. In these embodiments, thereceptacle 12 is attached to the chamber 20 and rotates along with thechamber 20. The receptacle 12 may include a box with a flippable orretractable lid, that can be opened and closed as needed. Alternatively,the lid may be dispensed when the animal waste 51 does not fall out whenthe chamber 20 is at, or rotates back to, the standby position, as shownin FIG. 16C. The receptacle 12 can rotate with the chamber 20, so thatwhen the chamber 20 is at the standby position, the receptacle 12 iselevated above the surface where the device 100 stands, therefore savingthe space occupied by the device 100. The receptacle 12 may be acontainer with a concave 18 within the receptacle 12, sunken toward theside adjacent to the chamber 20. The concave 18 is used to store theanimal waste 51 when the receptacle 12 rotates with the chamber 20 tothe standby position, so that the animal waste 51 will not fall out ofthe receptacle 12 from the opening under gravity. Occasionally, theanimal using the device 100 may jump out of the chamber 20 after it usesthe device, thus pushing the device 100 away from its initial location.When the receptacle 12 is connected to the chamber 20, the receptacle 12will move with the chamber 20. This ensures that the opening of thereceptacle 12 maintains its relative position to the chamber 20, thusminimizing the possibility that the screen filter 30 may dispose theanimal waste 51 out of the receptacle 12.

FIGS. 17A-17C illustrate schematic diagrams of yet another exemplaryreceptacle 12 of the animal waste handling device 100, according tocertain embodiments of the present disclosure. In these embodiments, thereceptacle 12 may include a bag 122 touching the floor surface where thedevice 100 stands. In some embodiments, the receptacle 12 may alsoinclude an opening 123 adjacent to the chamber 20 and rotates with thechamber 20. The receptacle 12 may be an elastic bag that can stretchwhen the opening 123 rotates with the chamber 20, with the body of thebag 122 remaining on the surface. The receptacle 12 may also be anyother expandable container suitable for the described purpose. Thereceptacle 12 illustrated herein can ensure the opening 123 of thereceptacle 12 to be at the appropriate location to accept the animalwaste 51, as shown in FIG. 17B. Meanwhile, the animal waste 51 alreadyin the receptacle 12 can remain unmoved while the chamber 20 rotates,therefore minimizing the possibility of spilling the animal waste 51 outof the receptacle 12. In some embodiments, the opening 123 can be sealedwhen a sensor in the device 100 or the receptacle 12 senses that theweight or height of the waste 51 inside the receptacle 12 has reached athreshold (e.g., substantially full as described above).

FIG. 18 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method 1800 forhandling animal waste with an animal waste handling device, according tocertain embodiments of the present disclosure. It is understood that thesteps shown in the method 1800 are not exhaustive and that other stepscan be performed as well before, after, or between any of theillustrated steps. Furthermore, some of the steps may be performedsimultaneously, or in a different order than that shown in FIG. 18 .Examples of the animal waste handling device in FIG. 18 may refer to theanimal waste handling devices 100, 600, 600′ and 700 describedhereinabove, which, according to Step 1800 (a pre-operation step), mayinclude a support bracket (such as the support bracket 10), a chamberattached to the support bracket (such as the chamber 20), and a screenfilter attached to the chamber (such as the screen filter 30).

Referring to FIG. 18 , at Step 1802, the chamber is rotated between afirst position and a second position. The first position may be astandby position, such as that shown in FIG. 1B, 5A, 6A, 6D, 7A, 8B,15A, 16A, 16C, 17A or 17C. At this position, the chamber may bepartially filled with litter material. The second position may be adisposition position, such as that shown in FIG. 4A, 4B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 5F,6B, 6C, 6F, 7C, 7D, 11A, 11B, 11C, 15B, 16B or 17B. At this position,the animal waste may be dumped outside the chamber 20. In someembodiments, the rotation of the chamber may be around a first axis(such as the axis passing through the pair of rotation points 13 shownin FIG. 2 ). In some embodiments, the chamber may rotate between theabove two positions (the first and second positions) for an anglebetween zero and a maximum rotation angle, which is between 75 and 150degrees.

At Step 1804, the screen filter may be moved between a third positionand a fourth position. In some embodiments, the third position may be aposition where the screen filter is within the chamber and also in aretracted position, such as the position P3 shown in FIG. 3A, 5A, 5B or5C. The fourth position may be a position where the screen filter movesclose to an opening (such as the opening 14 shown in FIG. 1A, 1B, 2, 5Aor 5D) of the chamber and also in an extended position, such as theposition P4 shown in FIG. 3A or 5E. In other embodiments, the thirdposition may be a position where the screen filter is within the chamber(e.g., the position P3′ shown in FIG. 6A or 6B), and the fourth positionmay be a position where the screen filter moves close to an opening ofthe chamber (e.g., the position P4′ shown in FIG. 6C). In someembodiments, the movement of the screen filter may include a rotationaround a second axis (such as the rotation axis 22 shown in FIG. 1A, 1C,2, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 5C, 5D, 5E, 6C, 6E, 7D or 9B), anextension/retraction (such as that described in conjunction with FIGS.3A-3D), or both. In some embodiments, the movement of the screen filtermay follow the rotation of the chamber, such as starting during therotation of the chamber or stating within a predetermined time after therotation of the chamber stops, so that the animal waste can betransported from inside the chamber to the screen filter, and thendumped outside the chamber, similar to the operations described inconjunction with FIGS. 5A-5E. In some embodiments, the screen filter mayrotate between the above two positions (the third and fourth positions)for an angle between zero and a maximum rotation angle, which is between45 and 90 degrees.

In some embodiments, similar to the operations described in conjunctionwith FIGS. 8A and 8B, the screen filter may move back to the thirdposition after it remains at the fourth position for a firstpredetermined time (e.g., 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60 seconds, anyrange bounded by the upper end by any of these values, or in any rangedefined by any two of these values), and the chamber may rotate backfrom the second position to the first position after it remains at thesecond position for a second predetermined time (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 5, 10,20, 30, 60, 120 seconds, any range bounded by the upper end by any ofthese values, or in any range defined by any two of these values). Insome embodiments, the first predetermined time is longer than the secondpredetermined time. In other embodiments, the first predetermined timeis shorter than the second predetermined time.

In some embodiments, similar to the operations described in conjunctionwith FIGS. 8C and 8D, the chamber may further rotate to a fifth positionafter it rotates back from the second position to the first position.This operation may more evenly spread out the litter material inside thechamber after each animal waste handling process. The fifth position maybe known as a spread position. The rotation direction of the chamberfrom the first position to the fifth position may be the same as thatfrom the second position to the first position (e.g., clockwise shown inFIGS. 8C-8D). In some embodiments, the chamber may rotate between theabove two positions (the first and fifth positions) for an angle betweenzero and a maximum rotation angle, which is between 5 and 45 degrees.

In some embodiments, similar to the operations described in conjunctionwith FIGS. 9A-9B and 11A-11C, the screen filter may further move betweenthe third position and a sixth position. This operation may perform atleast one of combing the litter material or scratching off or chippingaway the animal waste sticking to the bottom of the chamber or anonstick vessel. The sixth position may or may not match the fourthposition. The rotation direction of the screen filter from the thirdposition to the sixth position may be the same as that from the thirdposition to the fourth position (e.g., clockwise as shown in FIGS.11A-11C).

According to the present disclosure, the rotation of the chamber and themovement of the screen filter may be driven separately. For example, therotation of the chamber may be driven by a first driver (such as thefirst driver 11 described in conjunction with FIGS. 1D and 2 ), whilethe movement of the screen filter may be driven by a second driver (suchas the second driver described in conjunction with FIGS. 3A-3D). In someembodiments, the two drivers may be actuated by different components,such as the gearbox driving the first driver 11 shown in FIG. 2 and thegearwheel driving the second driver shown in FIG. 3A. In otherembodiments, the two drivers may be powered by the same motor, or drivenby the same component (as described in conjunction with FIGS. 6A-6Fabove). In some embodiments, both the first driver and the second drivermay be driven by electrical power. In other embodiments, at least one ofthe first driver and the second driver may be driven manually by a userof the device.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a device for handlingwaste deposited by an animal is disclosed. The device includes a supportbracket, a chamber attached to the support bracket, and a screen filterconfigured to locate within the chamber when the animal deposits thewaste. The chamber has an opening adapted to accommodate the animal todeposit the waste inside the chamber. The chamber is rotatable between afirst position and a second position. The screen filter is movablebetween a third position and a fourth position.

In some implementations, the rotation of the chamber and the movement ofthe screen filter are driven separately.

In some implementations, the rotation of the chamber is around a firstaxis and driven by a first driver.

In some implementations, the first driver includes a gearbox having adriving gear and a driven gear.

In some implementations, the movement of the screen filter is driven bya second driver and includes at least one of a rotation around a secondaxis and an extension/retraction.

In some implementations, the second driver includes a mechanical armhaving a single piece. One end of the single piece is rotatablyconnected to a gearwheel. The other end of the single piece pushes thescreen filter to move.

In some implementations, the second driver includes a mechanical armhaving a lower arm and an upper arm. One end of the lower arm isrotatably connected to a gearwheel and the other end of the lower arm isrotatably connected to one end of the upper arm. The other end of theupper arm pushes the screen filter to move.

In some implementations, the gearwheel includes a filter gear and achamber gear intermeshed with the filter gear. The gearwheel transmits arotational motion to the mechanical arm to push the screen filter tomove.

In some implementations, the extension/retraction of the screen filteris adjustable by at least one of the relative angle between the upperarm and the lower arm and the relative angular velocity between therotation of the filter gear and that of the screen filter.

In some implementations, the first driver and the second driver are bothactuated by a same component.

In some implementations, the movement of the screen filter follows therotation of the chamber so that the waste is transported from inside thechamber to the screen filter, and then dumped outside the chamber.

In some implementations, the movement of the screen filter starts duringthe rotation of the chamber.

In some implementations, the movement of the screen filter starts withina predetermined time after the rotation of the chamber stops.

In some implementations, at least a portion of the extension/retractionof the screen filter precedes the rotation of the chamber so that thescreen filter reaches closer to a bottom of the chamber.

In some implementations, at least one of the remaining portion of theextension/retraction and the rotation of the screen filter follows therotation of the chamber.

In some implementations, the chamber accommodates the animal at thefirst position and transports the waste to the screen filter whenrotating towards the second position.

In some implementations, the maximum rotation angle of the chamberbetween the first and second positions is between 75 and 150 degrees.

In some implementations, the screen filter is within the chamber at thethird position and dumps the waste outside the chamber when it rotatestowards the fourth position.

In some implementations, the maximum rotation angle of the screen filterbetween the third and fourth positions is between 45 and 90 degrees.

In some implementations, the screen filter is adapted to move back tothe third position after it remains at the fourth position for a firstpredetermined time.

In some implementations, the chamber is adapted to rotate back to thefirst position after it remains at the second position for a secondpredetermined time.

In some implementations, the first predetermined time is longer than thesecond predetermined time.

In some implementations, the first predetermined time is shorter thanthe second predetermined time.

In some implementations, the chamber is adapted to further rotate to afifth position after it rotates back to the first position. A directionof the rotation from the first position to the fifth position is thesame as a direction of the rotation from the second position to thefirst position.

In some implementations, the maximum rotation angle of the chamberbetween the first and fifth positions is between 5 and 45 degrees.

In some implementations, the chamber includes a nonstick vessel disposedinside the chamber. The chamber is adapted to receive litter materialdisposed on the nonstick vessel.

In some implementations, the nonstick vessel is adapted to deform whenthe chamber rotates toward the second position. At least a portion ofthe litter material is lifted away from the bottom of the chamber by thedeformed nonstick vessel.

In some implementations, the inner bottom of the chamber includes a flatsurface.

In some implementations, the chamber includes a substantially cuboidshape in a center region.

In some implementations, the screen filter is adapted to move betweenthe third position and a sixth position. A direction of the movementfrom the third position to the sixth position is the same as a directionof the movement from the third position to the fourth position.

In some implementations, an end of the screen filter away from thesecond axis combs through the litter material disposed in the chamberwhen the screen filter rotates between the third position and the sixthposition.

In some implementations, an end of the screen filter away from thesecond axis scratches a surface of the nonstick vessel or a bottomsurface of the chamber when the screen filter rotates between the thirdposition and the sixth position.

In some implementations, when the chamber is at the second position, thescreen filter chips away sticky waste from the nonstick vessel and dumpsit outside the chamber.

In some implementations, the screen filter includes a plurality offilter elements adapted to allow the litter material to pass through thescreen filter and to prevent the waste from passing through the screenfilter.

In some implementations, at least one of the screen filter or theplurality of filter elements is replaceable.

In some implementations, the device further includes a receptacleadjacent to the support bracket. The receptacle is adapted to collectthe waste dumped from the chamber.

In some implementations, the device further includes a receptacleconnected to the chamber. The receptacle is adapted to rotate along withthe chamber and to collect the waste dumped from the chamber followingthe rotation of the chamber and the movement of the screen filter.

In some implementations, the receptacle includes an opening adapted toopen or close according to at least one of the rotation of the chamberand the movement of the screen filter.

In some implementations, the receptacle is adapted to seal the wastewhen a first predetermined threshold is reached. The first predeterminedthreshold includes at least one of a weight of the waste or a height ofthe waste within the receptacle.

In some implementations, the receptacle is replaceable with a backupreceptacle that is different from the receptacle with respect to atleast one of volume, size, shape, position of an opening, and connectionto the device.

In some implementations, a sensor is provided in the support bracket orin the chamber. The sensor is adapted to sense the type of thereceptacle adjacent to the support bracket or connected to the chamber.

In some implementations, at least one of the rotation of the chamber andthe movement of the screen filter is driven manually by a user of thedevice.

In some implementations, the device further includes a sensor adapted tosense entry into or exit from the chamber by the animal. The sensoractivates the rotation of the chamber and the movement of the screenfilter after it senses an entry and an exit in sequence.

In some implementations, the device further includes a foldableprotector. One end of the foldable protector is attached to the chamberand the other end of the foldable protector is attached to a part of thedevice other than the chamber. The foldable protector is folded when thechamber is in the first position. The foldable protector is extendedwhen the chamber is in the second position.

In some implementations, the shape of the foldable protector includes atleast one of a bellow-like shape and a fan-like shape.

In some implementations, the device further includes a power sourceelectrically coupled to the device from outside of or within the device.

In some implementations, the device further includes a plurality ofwheels attached to the bottom of the device.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for handlinganimal waste with a device is disclosed. The device includes a supportbracket, a chamber attached to the support bracket, and a screen filterattached to the chamber. The method includes rotating the chamberbetween a first position and a second position, and moving the screenfilter between a third position and a fourth position.

In some implementations, the rotation of the chamber and the movement ofthe screen filter are driven separately.

In some implementations, rotating the chamber includes rotating thechamber around a first axis.

In some implementations, moving the screen filter includes at least oneof a rotation around a second axis and an extension/retraction.

In some implementations, the chamber is rotated by a first driver havinga gearbox.

In some implementations, the screen filter is moved by a second driverhaving a mechanical arm.

In some implementations, the first driver and the second driver are bothactuated by a same component.

In some implementations, the movement of the screen filter follows therotation of the chamber so that the waste is transported from inside thechamber to the screen filter, and then dumped outside the chamber.

In some implementations, the movement of the screen filter starts duringthe rotation of the chamber.

In some implementations, the movement of the screen filter starts withina predetermined time after the rotation of the chamber stops.

In some implementations, at least a portion of the extension/retractionof the screen filter precedes the rotation of the chamber so that thescreen filter reaches closer to the bottom of the chamber.

In some implementations, at least one of the remaining portion of theextension/retraction and the rotation of the screen filter follows therotation of the chamber.

In some implementations, the maximum rotation angle of the chamberbetween the first and second positions is between 75 and 150 degrees.

In some implementations, the maximum rotation angle of the screen filterbetween the third and fourth positions is between 45 and 90 degrees.

In some implementations, the screen filter is adapted to move back tothe third position after it remains at the fourth position for a firstpredetermined time.

In some implementations, the chamber is adapted to rotate back to thefirst position after it remains at the second position for a secondpredetermined time.

In some implementations, the first predetermined time is longer than thesecond predetermined time.

In some implementations, the first predetermined time is shorter thanthe second predetermined time.

In some implementations, the chamber is adapted to further rotate to afifth position after it rotates back to the first position. Thedirection of rotation from the first position to the fifth position isthe same as that from the second position to the first position.

In some implementations, the maximum rotation angle of the chamberbetween the first and fifth positions is between 5 and 45 degrees.

In some implementations, the screen filter is adapted to move betweenthe third position and a sixth position. The direction of the movementfrom the third position to the sixth position is the same as that fromthe third position to the fourth position.

In some implementations, at least one of the rotation of the chamber andthe movement of the screen filter is driven manually by a user of thedevice.

The foregoing description of the specific implementations will so revealthe general nature of the present disclosure that others can, byapplying knowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/oradapt for various applications of such specific implementations, withoutundue experimentation, and without departing from the general concept ofthe present disclosure. Therefore, such adaptations and modificationsare intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of thedisclosed implementations, based on the teaching and guidance presentedherein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminologyherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, suchthat the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is tobe interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings andguidance.

Implementations of the present disclosure have been described above withthe aid of functional building blocks illustrating the implementation ofspecified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of thesefunctional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for theconvenience of the description. Alternate boundaries can be defined solong as the specified functions and relationships thereof areappropriately performed.

The Summary and Abstract sections may set forth one or more but not allexemplary implementations of the present disclosure as contemplated bythe inventor(s), and thus, are not intended to limit the presentdisclosure and the appended claims in any way.

The breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited byany of the above-described exemplary implementations, but should bedefined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for handling waste deposited by ananimal, comprising: a support bracket; a chamber attached to the supportbracket, the chamber having an opening adapted to accommodate the animalto deposit the waste inside the chamber; and a screen filter locatedwithin the chamber when the animal deposits the waste, wherein thechamber is configured to rotate between a first position and a secondposition, wherein the screen filter is configured to move between athird position and a fourth position, wherein the rotation of thechamber and the movement of the screen filter are driven separately, andwherein, in response to the screen filter moving between the thirdposition and the fourth position, the waste passes through the openingfrom inside the chamber to outside the chamber.
 2. The device of claim1, wherein the rotation of the chamber is around a first axis and drivenby a first driver, and wherein the movement of the screen filter isdriven by a second driver and comprises at least one of a rotationaround a second axis and an extension/retraction.
 3. The device of claim2, wherein the second driver comprises a mechanical arm having a singlepiece, wherein one end of the single piece is rotatably connected to agearwheel, and wherein another end of the single piece pushes the screenfilter to move.
 4. The device of claim 2, wherein the second drivercomprises a mechanical arm having a lower arm and an upper arm, whereinone end of the lower arm is rotatably connected to a gearwheel and theother end of the lower arm is rotatably connected to one end of theupper arm, and wherein another end of the upper arm pushes the screenfilter to move.
 5. The device of claim 2, wherein the first driver andthe second driver are adapted to be both actuated by a same component.6. The device of claim 2, wherein at least a portion of theextension/retraction of the screen filter precedes the rotation of thechamber so that the screen filter reaches closer to a bottom of thechamber.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein at least one of a remainingportion of the extension/retraction and the rotation of the screenfilter follows the rotation of the chamber.
 8. The device of claim 1,wherein the movement of the screen filter is adapted to follow therotation of the chamber, and wherein the waste is transported frominside the chamber to the screen filter, and then dumped outside thechamber.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the screen filter is withinthe chamber at the third position and is adapted to dump the wasteoutside the chamber when the screen filter moves towards the fourthposition.
 10. The device of claim 1, wherein the chamber comprises anonstick vessel disposed inside the chamber, and wherein the chamber isadapted to receive litter material disposed on the nonstick vessel. 11.The device of claim 10, wherein the nonstick vessel is adapted to deformwhen the chamber rotates toward the second position, and wherein atleast a portion of the litter material is lifted away from a bottom ofthe chamber by the deformed nonstick vessel.
 12. The device of claim 1,wherein an inner bottom of the chamber comprises a flat surface.
 13. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the chamber comprises a substantially cuboidshape in a center region.
 14. The device of claim 1, further comprisinga receptacle adjacent to the support bracket, wherein the receptacle isadapted to collect the waste dumped from the chamber.
 15. The device ofclaim 14, wherein a sensor is provided in the support bracket or in thechamber, and wherein the sensor is adapted to sense a type of thereceptacle adjacent to the support bracket or connected to the chamber.16. A method for handling animal waste with a device having a chamberwith an opening and a screen filter attached to the chamber, comprising:rotating the chamber between a first position and a second position, andmoving the screen filter between a third position and a fourth position,wherein the rotation of the chamber and the movement of the screenfilter are driven separately, wherein the opening is adapted toaccommodate an animal to deposit waste inside the chamber, and wherein,in response to the screen filter being moved between the third positionand the fourth position, the waste passes through the opening frominside the chamber to outside the chamber.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein rotating the chamber comprises rotating the chamber around afirst axis, and wherein moving the screen filter comprises at least oneof a rotation around a second axis and an extension/retraction.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, wherein at least a portion of theextension/retraction of the screen filter precedes the rotation of thechamber so that the screen filter reaches closer to a bottom of thechamber.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the movement of the screenfilter follows the rotation of the chamber so that the waste istransported from inside the chamber to the screen filter, and thendumped outside the chamber.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein thescreen filter is adapted to move back to the third position after itremains at the fourth position for a first predetermined time, whereinthe chamber is adapted to rotate back to the first position after itremains at the second position for a second predetermined time, andwherein the first predetermined time is shorter than the secondpredetermined time.